Meet our Technology Team!

We have many teams through out the company. Marketing, Sales, Finance, Manufacturing, Shipping, LTL, Purchasing… The list goes on. But there is one team that sticks out because it has some of the funniest and quirkiest people in the company. Our Technology team. The team consists of five guys, all completely different from each other, but with one commonality, they are technology nerds.

We wanted to get to know them a little bit and find out what they find rewarding about their career, what they like about Clickstop, and what they look for in a co-worker. First though, let’s introduce you to the guys!

From left to right; Wesley, Tom, Ben, Keith, and Brad

Tom Altman – VP of Technology – 6.5 years

Wesley McElwee – Web Developer – 3 years

Keith Shaffer – Web Developer – 2 Years

Ben Heims – Project Coordinator – 1.5 years

Brad Jackson – Senior Developer – Just shy of 1 year

What is one thing you tell people when you are describing Clickstop?

Yes, it IS that place you drive by on the way to Waterloo. Seriously – I tell them its a great place to work, but more importantly… it’s where all the cool people work. Then they usually wonder why I working there… it goes downhill from here. – Tom

It’s a fun place to work, but we also really push to be the most successful company we can be. – Wesley

There is an energy here and a drive to do great things. It is hard to explain but easy to feel and downright contagious. It is really rewarding to see people so invested in making a company a success and see them working so hard on a daily basis to make it happen. There really is a feeling of everyone working as one big team, not a bunch of individual departments. – Keith

It is a great place to work, and an awesome team. – Ben

The working environment is casual and relaxed, and the people here are friendly and fun. – Brad

What is one thing you tell people when explaining your job at Clickstop?

It’s a great job where I get to do many things with technology. I get excited about some of the research and about developing projects we have coming up in the near future. -Tom

I work on keeping our websites running and as easy to use as possible – Wesley

Not really at liberty to tell them anything about my job specifically. It is classified. What I tell them is I work in development on our content management system and assorted web applications to help the company with everything from the sales process to the fulfillment side of things, and everything in between. That is what I tell them, because as I mentioned… the truth is classified. – Keith

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Solving hard problems for people – so many times you don’t get to work for a company that has fun and has hard problems to solve. – Tom

Adding capabilities that help other people do their job easier. – Wesley

I absolutely love helping people and trying to improve their ability to be successful. If we can do one thing that makes their job that much more efficient or help them work through issues, it really makes my day. Knowing I helped is all the reward I need. Well, that and the gift of Subway straws. Working with the guys on the team is pretty awesome too… not quite as cool as a quality straw… but close. – Keith

When people are able to use their computer. When people who think they are “computer illiterate” are able to do more and more on their own. It makes them self-sufficient and most people want to be. It makes me happy to help them see they are better with computers than they think they are. – Ben

Building something cool and rolling it out for people to use. -Brad

What is your favorite part about being on the Technology Team?

We have a tight group who enjoys having fun together. I feel like I come to work to be with my friends – not just co-workers. -Tom

We’re constantly looking down the road to build systems and tools that will maximize our efficiency and reliability in the future. -Wesley

We are like a fellowship of very different skills with one single goal. That goal is to throw the cargo ring into the lava pits of Mordor as it grows so heavy. Ummm, I mean that one goal is to utilize our different talents to build great things and make everyone at Clickstop have their job be a little bit easier. Also, the fellowship of the ring thing… and the fact that I get to be the Ranger. -Keith

We quietly get things done, making large impacts with minimal disruption. We are a quirky group of guys but we are good with it and own our quirkiness. – Ben

Getting “in the zone” and writing tons of awesome code. – Brad

What do you look for in a co-worker?

In technology- it is always good to find people who have a different background than you. Then you get to learn from their different experiences. This has a way of making the whole team better – we can learn from the past of each team member. – Tom

Someone who is easy to communicate with and can bounce ideas back and forth to try and come up with the best available solution to problems we are facing. – Wesley

I look for a person that wants to continually improve, continually learn new things, and do whatever it takes to help us all be successful. I also like them to bring me Subway straws. Did I mention that? -Keith

People that want to dig in and get things done. People that will hold me accountable but not be all up in my business. – Ben

Someone who is knowledgeable, independent, helpful, and has a good sense of humor. – Brad

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to be part of your team and a part of Clickstop?

Come in with an open mind – things move quickly and you have to be ready to run. We have so many fun things happening, it can be a little intimidating at first. But once you get your flow – it’s a great ride. – Tom

It’s a great place to work. We value personal wellbeing and family. We hope that putting priority on those things helps make the company as successful as it can be. – Wesley

The team part is easy. Work on your hand-eye coordination. A lot. You will be subject to an old fashioned western duel at the town square at 6pm and if you win, you are in. Bring your steel-toed shoes as we take safety very seriously. I’ll be your huckleberry. – Keith

Be ready to talk about things that are on the fringe of what is possible. Conversations in our group can range from drones to an autonomous driving semi. No subject is too out there. Clickstop is a great place but not magic. It is up to you to make fun, celebrate accomplishments. You are the driver! Make sure to have fun and celebrate with your team! – Ben

Be willing to learn new things. Have ideas on how to improve our architecture and processes. Have a positive and enthusiastic attitude. Learn the Core Four. – Brad

So, as you can see, we have a pretty cool group representing our Technology department, and Keith sums it all up perfectly…

“In all honesty, well, more honesty because all of what I said was true… you just need to want to be part of the solution. We really value the unique talents on the team and while it is easy to view Technology as one group, we are very different in our individual skills. We appreciate that about each other and we really try to take advantage of that by applying the talents where they best fit. But also continue to learn from each other. We really do want to make big things happen at Clickstop, so as long as a person can bring their technical skills with a willingness to think outside of the box, they would do well. Also, they should be interested in bringing balance to the force while knowing full well there is no hope because the dark side rules. I mean we built a death star that could blow up planets. Seriously. Kind of ends the whole conversation right there.”